1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water heater with a flame arrester set in a garage, a cellar, a warehouse and the like where inflammable materials such as gasoline, thinner, benzine and the like generating combustible vapor are stored.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in this kind of a water heater with a flame arrester, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, a hot water storage chamber 2 and a combustion chamber 3 are provided upward and downward within a hollow cylindrical body 1, the combustion chamber 3 is provided with an exhaust passage 5 which penetrates the shaft center position and has an air supply inlet 4 and an opening on the upper portion of the body 1 for exhausting combustion gas within the combustion chamber 3, and further, a flame arrester (flame interruption apparatus) 6 is provided on the air supply inlet 4. A water heater with a flame arrester is made so that when exhaust gas at a high temperature burned with a gas burner 3a provided within the combustion chamber 3 passes through the exhaust passage 5, water supplied within the hot water storage chamber 2 is heated by the exhaust gas and stored as hot water at the predetermined temperature and then supplied to the outside of the water heater as appropriate. The flame arrester 6 is made of metal in a plate shape which is provided with a large number of minute openings such as a punching metal or an expand metal. Each inflammable gas has a quenching distance which is the largest gap that flame can not go through without being extinguished, since the flame arrester 6 utilizes this principle, the opening is made in a minute shape and the size of it is made in the range on the order of xcfx861.5-3 mm.
However, since the opening of the flame arrester 6 is small as described above, it becomes easily clogged by combustion products such as dust, a drain generated by the combustion of the gas or the like. Therefore, if the flame arrester 6 had been clogged by dust or combustion products, an incomplete combustion state would be occurred due to the shortage of air supply within the combustion chamber 3, the state where carbon monoxide gas increases could be generated within the room around the water heater, and people within the room might have been suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning or the like.
Moreover, for the purpose of preventing sufferings from such carbon monoxide poisoning or the like, it is necessary to frequently do the work for cleaning the clogging of the flame arrester, and it has been very much troublesome.
Hence, an object of the invention is to solve the problem described above and to provide a water heater with a flame arrester capable of preventing trouble occurring with the shortage of the air supply due to the clogging of the flame arrester.
Moreover, another object of the invention is to provide a water heater with the shortage of the air supply due the clogging of the flame arrester as well as capable of saving the works of cleaning of the flame arrester for forcing the clogging itself of a flame arrester due to dust, the combustion products and the like not to be easily generated.
These and other objects are accomplished by a safety apparatus capable of maintaining safety in a room near by the foregoing body, when the air supply shortage or oxygen deficiency occurs within the foregoing combustion chamber due to the clogging of the foregoing flame arrester. It is preferable to employ the foregoing burner flame changing detection means, and at least one of the foregoing fuel shut off means and an abnormality warning means.
Moreover, as one aspect of a safety apparatus, according to claim 2, 3 or 4, it is preferable to employ the foregoing burner flame changing detection means, and at least one of the foregoing fuel shut off means and an abnormality warning means.
Further, it is preferable to employ the foregoing clogging detection means, and at least one of the foregoing fuel shut off means and the abnormality warning means.
The objects are further accomplished by providing a dust collection filter on the upstream side of the foregoing flame arrester.
The dust collection filter is approximately horizontally beneath the foregoing burner and the foregoing flame arrester is arranged approximately horizontally. The flame arrester and the dust collection filter are arranged vertically on the side wall of the combustion chamber. It is preferable to make the flame arrester and the dust collection filter attachable and detachable from each other and to configure integrally the flame arrester and the dust collection filter. Further, it is preferable to configure dust collection filters as two filters opposing each other and arrange openings of the dust collection filters so that the openings are not projectively overlapped each other and to enable at least the dust collection filter on the upstream side to be attachable and detachable.
Moreover, according to claim 10, one of the other aspects of the present invention is preferable to arrange the foregoing flame arrester and the dust collection filter vertically on the side wall of the foregoing combustion chamber.
Moreover, according to claim 11, 12 or 13, one of the other aspects of the present invention is preferable to make the flame arrester and the dust collection filter attachable and detachable from each other and to configure integrally the flame arrester and the dust collection filter.
Moreover, according to claim 14, 15 or 16, one of the other aspects of the present invention is preferable to configure dust collection filters as two filters opposing each other and arrange openings of the dust collection filters so that the openings are not projectively overlapped each other and to enable at least the dust collection filter on the upstream side to be attachable and detachable.
It is also preferable to provide heating means for maintaining the foregoing dust collection filter at a high temperature.
The objects are further accomplished by the flame arrester arranged beneath the foregoing burner horizontally, and further providing falling prevention means for preventing combustion products from falling from the upper side to the flame arrester.
A receiving member in the shape of an annulus is provided for receiving combustion products beneath the exhausting inlet as the falling prevention means.
A receiving member is provided in a circular shape without a hole for receiving combustion products beneath the exhausting inlet as the falling prevention means.
A receiving member is provided to cover most of the upper side of the flame attester as the falling prevention means.